A Moth to The Flame
by SweetDash
Summary: "You are here to compliment me? Seems like you are finally learning your place, eh Granger?" I flared with anger momentarily, but took a steady breath. "If you mean at the top of our class and the smartest witch of our age? Then yeah, I learned my place." A tale of love, told while being a captive prisoner. This is Hermione's story. HBP compliant.
1. Preface

**AN (07-03-18) : Hey guys! So for some reason this chapter has been nagging at me since I published it last month. So I have completely rewritten it. It fills out Blaise's character a little more and overall, I just enjoy it a lot more. I hope you do too. As always, please review! I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading! - Ali**

Drip..Drip..Drip.. I felt the drops hit my face, waking me from the horrible sleep that I had finally found. The floor was cold, which was nothing new, but the added rain had soaked my clothes. The frigidness of it was causing me to shake. I pulled myself into a sitting position and pulled my knees into my chest, trying to get body heat to help warm me up. I glanced around me and was terrified to see that I could just barely make out the door on the far side of my prison.

The light shining beneath the opening was only on when I was to receive a 'visitor'. I buried my head in my hands. Who was I to see tonight? What kind of torture shall I endure? It had been 5 days since they last cursed me, they called in a light session, but I had never been closer to begging for death. My body started trembling as I heard the scuffle of the key in the lock.

 _Let this be the end. Let them kill me tonight._ I repeated the mantra in my head like a prayer. I was bruised, I was tired, and my spirit was on the verge of breaking. I just wanted to be free and feel something besides the death in the air. I flinched from the brightness of the light when the door finally opened. I squeezed my eyes shut and listened to the door shut, as the person just stood in front of me for a moment. _Let it be over._

"Lumos." I knew that voice and relaxed completely. I was relieved that I wasn't going to be subjected to unspeakable things tonight, though a small twinge deep in my heart was disappointed that I was still trapped here. "Come on, Granger, you know that it will only get worse if you don't let your eyes adjust."

"Whatever, Zabini." My voice was raw and barely a whisper, but he chuckled anyway. I knew he was right and slowly, and with much protest, opened my eyes. The beam of light from his wand lit the cell fairly well. I could see everything. My world suddenly seemed so much smaller. In the dark I could close my eyes and pretend that I was camping out in the woods with-

 _No._ I shook my head. _Don't. Go. There._

I turned to Blaise, his eyes were dark, heavy bags were still there despite the fact that I knew he knew how to do cosmetic charms. He looked skinnier than usual; his face lost some more of its roundness. His black robes had extra space as they hung off his body, despite the fact that there were soaked from the downpour. He was becoming a whisper of himself- he was out in the world! It made me afraid of what he saw when he looked at me. He held his hand out to me and helped me stand on my feet.

"You look like you are freezing." He muttered before waving his want and drying my clothes, as well as the cell. He then put a shield charm on the opening of the roof and quickly cast a warming spell. I closed my eyes to savoir these moments, knowing when he left they leave pulled me into a tight hug, something that always made me choke up with emotion. It was the only time anyone ever paid me a second of kindness and I appreciated it more than words could express. I clung to him for several moments before pushing away and hastily wiping my eyes.

"I brought some food for you." He spoke quietly and handed me a small sack.

I gave him a small, strained smile and walked back to the brick wall to sit. Blaise laid his wand in the middle of the room before coming over to join me. We were there in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before my curiosity got the best.

"So," my voice felt funny after being inactive for so long, "How is he?"

"He's not doing well, Granger. Not at all." Blaise wouldn't look me in the eyes and instead chose to stare at the candle. I wasn't sure what it was about the way he said it, but something made me realize that he was still sugar coating it. I suddenly lost my appetite and lowered the food from my mouth. Blaise noticed immediately. "No, you need to keep eating. That was the deal, you eat and I tell you how he is doing." I brought the roll back up to my mouth and took a very small bite, barely tasting the food."I don't know what to do. I have tried everything to help him, but I've hit a wall." Blaise glanced at me and I swallowed.

"Is he still looking for me?" This is was the hardest question that I had to ask every time Blaise came to see me. I was always torn between hoping that he still cared about me, was still looking for me, and wishing he would let go of me. It twisted my gut and nearly made my heart stop to think that he would move on and leave me in the past, but more than anything I just wanted him to be safe. But even I knew that was a tall order nowadays.

"Of course he is, Hermione." The emotion in Blaise voice clearly conveyed lack of patience, as well as worry and panic. "He is getting less and less stealthy about it. Last time Potter was spotted, you were the first thing he asked about. I am sure that people are starting to put together why he is so concerned about you."

Now, I really did push away the food. The guilt and panic in my stomach was going to make me sick. I put my head against my knees and took several deep, shaky breaths. That was one of the biggest fears that I have had, since we had to say goodbye. I knew that he would be worried when I hadn't been spotted, but the fact that he is getting so bad at hiding his concern was bloody terrifying.

"Hermione, don't you think that it is time I told him where you were?"

"No!" The exclamation nearly ripped my sensitive vocal cords. My head flew up to look at him. His eyes were tired and sad, but unsurprised by my emotional reaction. I grabbed his hand in mine, my grip was weak but I held as tightly as I could, imploring him to understand. "Blaise, if he is already causing suspicion just based on me not being seen with Harry, imagine what he would do if he found out I was here. There would be no doubt in my mind that the very first thing that he would do in come down here in a know as well as I do that if he were to do that, he would end up being tortured or killed. He must never know that I am here."

Blaise rubbed at his eyes and covered his face with his hand. I could see that this was hurting him too, both of us cared about him too much to let anything happen to him. Blaise had been his best friend for years. Besides myself, Blaise was the only other person to know how much regret was in his heart about the side of the war he is on. He squeezed my hand.

"He loves you, you know." I did know. "Tell me how that happened."

"You were there." I said with a sigh, but I already started having the memories flow around me.

"You two were very sneaky, I really don't know." Blaise countered. "Tell me, before..." The 'you can't' part hung between us, unspoken but deeply understood. I sighed and laid my head against the brick wall. He had been asking for this story for months, I don't know why its so important to him, or why it matters at all, but with the emotions in the air I feel like its just time.

"I want to start by saying, its not a fast story and I never meant to fall in love with him. But Draco Malfoy just has that way of getting under your skin and all your defenses. The bloody git." Blaise cracked a smile and I continued on. "It really started at the beginning of sixth year, when Slughorn told him to get help in potions."


	2. Chapter One

**AN: Hey everyone! So I had found my notes for the story and realized that I mucked up the time line already xD So I am updating this. As of 6-30-18 this chapter is officially compliant with HBP. Each chapter will be getting updated within the next day or two as well. So until they are all finished, please overlook any simple timeline issues, as they will be corrected soon. Thank you!**

 **Also, I don't own Harry Potter, or Dramione would be cannon. Ali.**

"Your assignment this week is 10 inches on the history, characteristics, and effects on Amortentia due no later than end of the day Friday." Slughorn announces joyfully to the class. I sighed and relaxed in my chair. 10 inches wasn't too bad, 10 inches I can handle. "Class is dismissed. Mr. Malfoy can I speak to you for a moment please?"

I grabbed my items from around my table and said goodbye to the Hufflepuff that was sitting beside me.

"10 inches!? Merlin's beard the professors are trying to kill us this year, Harry!" A loud voice complained behind me. I rolled my eyes at the whining. It was only the beginning of October, he should have expected the assignments by now.

"Don't I know it mate." another boys voice spoke lowly. "We could just borrow Hermione's-"

"You most certainly will not!" I said rounding on them. The two boys were grinning widely and already fighting back laughter. "I already did two of your assignments this year, Harry Potter. This is the easiest class that you have." I gave him a pointed look, "That book seems to be helping you along nicely." I knew I needed to stop bothering him about that wretched book. Classes had barely started 5 weeks ago and I already could feel the tension when I mentioned it. But, it was absolutely maddening that he kept it around.

"Well maybe I've just studied over the summer." The dark haired boy said, but I still noted that his grip tightened around the book, before he shoved it into his bag. Harry flipped his dark black hair out of his eyes and gave me an easy smile. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to Ron, laughing at the sight of him, easing the anger that had started to simmer.

"Ronald, your hair is stuck straight up. You look ridiculous. Did you fall asleep in class again?" He denied that he did, yet as we towards the back of the class he started messing with his hair and asked Harry how it looked. He looked adorable fussing with his bright red hair. His uniform was a hand-me down from one of the twins, so it was a bit small on him, but he filled it out well. He had been practicing for Quidditch tryouts all summer, and you could tell.

I had spent some time at the Weasley's the summer past and I felt like Ron and I were starting to get to the same page. I would catch his glimpses of me when he thought I wasn't looking. Even just thinking about it made my cheeks go pink.

"Why would I do that!?" a very sharp and agitated voice cut through the air.

I turned to look at them. Draco Malfoy was clearly struggling to maintain his composure as Slughorn continued to talk to him in hushed tones. He was shaking his head and I swear I heard Slughorn mention Lucius, Dracos father. That made Draco snap to attention, his eyes narrowed slightly. I could tell from across the room that he was trying to charm Slughorn, but the professor continued to shake his head. With a huff he glanced towards me, and then full on faced me. I jumped back.

Great, he had caught me staring at him. I blushed, ducked my head, and hurried out the door to catch up with Harry and Ron. They weren't too far ahead and didn't seem to notice when I reappeared alongside of them. They had started talking about quidditch, something that had been the hot topic since Ron beat Cormic McLaggen for keeper almost a month ago. I decided to ignore them as we approached the Great Hall. I was trying not to think about the fact that I had been staring at Malfoy, and subsequently got caught by the boy himself.

"Hey Granger!" Damn, obviously pretending it didn't happen wasn't going to be an option. I stopped and turned around, Harry and Ron immediately putting their hands on their wands. I rolled my eyes. Though I won't lie it made my heart jump when Ron got protective. However I tugged on both boys arms until they released their wands, muttering about how we were prefects to Ron. Malfoy swaggered up to us, with a devilish smirk on his face. His hair hadn't been cut over the summer and was starting to hang into his steel grey eyes.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron snapped at him. Draco's raised an eyebrow and his smirk deepened considerably. It was the first time in a long time I had noticed him look slightly relaxed, not that I noticed him often. Parvati and Lavender tended to point it out quite a lot though.

"Listen Weasley, I need to talk to Granger. So if you could please get off her leg, I would appreciate it." Ron went for his wand again, but I put my hand on his arm and shook my head with a huff.

"What do you need, Malfoy?" I asked him. His eyes snapped to me and his smirk completely vanished, in favor of a slightly more disgusted look, and his eyebrows furrowed together.

"I need a favor." My jaw dropped. Ron and Harry both snorted and folded their arms across their chest.

"You have better luck asking McGonagall not do give us homework for the rest of the semester." Harry announced.

"Harry!" I snapped, he shrugged at me, as if saying 'it's true though.' I shook my head. I looked back at Malfoy and, I can't explain it, but something inside me told me I needed to hear him out. In a very hesitated voice I said, "Can we discuss this after dinner? I can meet you outside of the Great Hall." Draco nodded once at me, and then his smirk came back as he saluted the boys and walked away.

"Hermione you cannot seriously be-" Harry started.

"You know that he is just trying to curse you!" Ron shouted

"- death eater for all we know!"

"-first year! Are you bloody-"

"Enough!" I cut them both off. "I love you boys, but just shut up! I am more than capable of taking care of myself. Besides Harry, you have no proof that he is a Death Eater. If you did than you would have gone to Dumbledore. Now let's go eat!" Usually the mention of food is enough to end any argument or conversation that we are having, but they were not letting go of it. Both boys continued to speak over each other as I walked into the Hall.

So I ignored them as best as I could.

Harry and Ron only stopped their protests once we reached the table and they were both distracted by something else that made them upset. Ginny was sitting in her usual spot and had Dean Thomas's arm around her shoulders. Ron darkened because it was his little sister and it pissed him off to think that anyone would touch his sister in any way. Harry, though he had never admitted it out loud, was grumpy for a different reason entirely; Ron just assumed it was because Harry thought of Ginny like a little sister too. I don't know if even Harry fully understood what he was feeling towards Ginny.

I would be lying if I said that I was fine during dinner. I couldn't pay attention to half of the conversation, because I was too busy being nervous. It wasn't that I thought Draco was a Death Eater, because it is ridiculous to think that Voldemort would be interested in having a 16 year old boy in his army. I was nervous because if there is one thing that I know about Draco Malfoy it is that he loves being the center of attention and he was cruel. It didn't help that one of his favorite past times seems to be making fun of and trying to ridicule me. I can't believe that I actually suggested that we meet. Alone. Ugh. Maybe Harry and Ron were right and-

"Are you okay Hermione?" Ginny asked, finally breaking through my worried thoughts.

"Oh! Uh, yes, I am fine." I said with a shaky smile. Harry saw through it. He locked his green eyes on mine and leaned towards me.

"You don't have to go meet him you know. Just say the word and we will go over there and tell him to leave you the hell alone." He slapped Rons arm who, with a full mouth, agreed. There Harry went again. Not only being a great best friend to me, but also treating me like his little sister. I think that he sometimes forgets that I am older than him.

"Tell who?" Ginny said, suddenly becoming angry at whoever was threatening me.

"It's Malfoy," I sighed. "He needs a favor and I told him that we could meet up after dinner to talk about whatever it is."

"Why would you want to do that?" Ginny asked, genuinely confused. "You should have just told him to take a hike. In fact the Forbidden Forest is lovely this time of year." I laughed.

"Honestly? I am kind of curious about what it is that he wants. I am just worried because it is Malfoy, and whatever it is that he wants. I have always been the last person that he would want to ever be around, but suddenly he walks up to me and asks me for a favor? I don't know, it's just weird."

"You are too curious." Ginny said shaking her head. I just shrugged and went back to eating my food. Maybe I was a little too curious, but even so it took all of my willpower not to look up to the Slytherin table for the rest of dinner.

When I had stalled finishing my food for as long as I could I reluctantly starting packing up my stuff. Harry offered to come again, but I just waved him off as Ron sucked him into another conversation about Quidditch. While it was completely silly to think that I needed help, I appreciated it all the same. Ginny and Dean stood to leave the same time I did, so we of the Great Hall together. Malfoy stood against the wall directly across from the doors. He seemed annoyed as he shoved something into his pocket upon seeing me. Dean continued up the stairs towards the common room but Ginny hung back for a minute.

"I will see you in a few?" she asked, staring intently at Draco instead of facing me.

"Of course, go on now." She did so hesitantly, and I had to push her up the first stair. I sighed and continued toward Malfoy.

"You are the slowest eater that I have ever seen." His voice was flat.

"Sorry." I said, mainly out of reflex. It was something Harry and Ron had told me all the time.

"Come on." Was his only reply and he started walking toward the main door of Hogwarts.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, following an extra few feet back than I probably needed to.

"Outside, where female Weaselbe can't have me in her cross hairs while we talk." His face almost broke out into a smirk when he said that. "Come on, Granger, hurry up. It is nearly freezing outside and I promise that I am not going to hurt you or anything." I sighed and picked up the pace till we were standing side by side.

He was right, it was freezing out tonight, I was lucky that the Hogwarts robes were thick enough to be warm. The robes didn't shield my face though and the wind was just harsh enough to whip my hair around my eyes.

We walked a while without saying anything. It was extremely uncomfortable so I focused on the grounds around us. The moon was bright enough that it reflected on the snow and made it easy to see the shoveled courtyard.

"First," he started off with a deep sigh, "I want it noted that I was totally against this idea and that I am here because it was either you or Potter." He visibly darkened and a tremor ran through him when he said Harry's name. He ran a hand through his hair as we stopped and I stared at him. I was extremely uncomfortable, that wasn't a great way to start out a conversation. "And let's be honest, if I asked Potter he would laugh in my face, and then I would have to curse him. And as much fun as that sounds, I cannot get into more trouble right now."

"Malfoy, just come out with it. What do you need?"

He stood up to his full height and stared down at me.

"I need you to be my Potions tutor."


	3. Chapter Two

I burst out laughing; there was no way that is where this was actually going. When Malfoy continued to stand there just looking at me, I started calming my laughter.

"Okay, very funny Malfoy. What is it that you actually need?" He shook his head and sighed.

"I'm not kidding Granger. I do actually need you to be my potions tutor. "

I frowned at him. "Why do you need a tutor? You are not unintelligent, from what I have seen you are quite adept at potions. It seems unlikely that you would need a tutor."

"Maybe tutor is the wrong word, but whatever. The case is that I am already falling behind in potions. Slughorn is making a big deal out of a few missed classes and half-assed homework assignments. Honestly, I couldn't care less about the stupid class. But that oaf wrote to my father." He was looking in every direction, except mine as he explained. His voice sounded very put off, like he couldn't even believe he was explaining this to me. "So, I need a 'tutor' that will actually make me keep up with my classes. Slughorn said that either it was you or Potter. I think we both know that if I got saddled with Potter it would all go down hill very, very quickly."

"While I agree that things with Harry would be a mess, there were probably a million reasons that someone could come up with as to why this would be the world's worst idea ever. Ron and Harry for starters." Draco scoffed and shuffled his feet against the snow covered stone. "But, they can't really object if Slughorn is the one that suggested this."

I bit my lip and I contemplated. I'm sure there would be a fight with Harry and Ron about this. They absolutely hate even being in the same school as Draco, I couldn't even imagine their reaction to me having to continuously be at the same table as him. But like I just said, am I really able to say no when a Professor suggested tutoring?

He broke into my thoughts and said snappily, "Honestly Granger, if Slughorn hadn't written my father I wouldn't ask for this. I would physically rather get mauled by a hippogriff again than ask of this actually." I rolled my eyes as he kicked the ground again and turned to glare at me. "I just need someone to say I've studied when Slughorn checks in. Could you just bloody do this?"

I huffed, after everything that has ever occurred between the two of us he had the gall to demand this of me. It wasn't too evil of me to want to make him beg, was it? After all, I am pretty sure that I would be totally and completely justified. But it was freezing out and I just wanted to go back inside and sit by the fire. Sod I flipped my hair over my shoulder and stood up straight.

"Okay. I will help you out in potions" I said slowly. "First things first, ground rules. There will absolutely be no missing classes, okay? This material is hard enough, without having to explain to you exactly what potions are supposed to do during their creation." He rolled his eyes, but waved his had in dismissal as I trailed off for a second in thought. I turned to face him. "Are you still doing quidditch this year?"

He looked momentarily shocked that I would remember this tidbit, but quickly schooled his features. "Yes, I am." was his curt response. I nodded trying to think how many times a week I could get him into a study session without it overloading him and myself.

"We need to meet at least 3 times a week. I would prefer more, but I know that you have other classes and other obligations. However, because I am technically responsible for your grade, I will need to go over your homework at least 2 days before it is due. That is so I can allow you time to make corrections."

"Thats ridiculous." He scoffed. "I'll meet with you once a week."

"Twice!" I countered "There is more to studying than just reading and memorizing. It will be good to test each other more often!"

"Fine, twice, but if they turn into class length lectures, I am walking out." I agreed, slightly peeved. Then he smirked at me."Also, what makes you think that my homework would need corrections?"

"The fact that you called your homework half-assed, that's what. Anyway, do you think it is possible for Harry and Ron to-"

"No." He harshly shook his head. His smirk dropped and his silver eyes blazed with fury. "Absolutely not."

"And why not?" I demanded, my hands going to my hips in a very Molly Weasley manner, that would have scared the tar out of Harry or Ron, but Malfoy just sneered.

"Because, Granger, I am not interested in watching you drool over Weasley up close. It's hard enough to watch you chase after him like a sad little puppy. I think I would actually pitch myself off the astronomy tower if I had to deal with it constantly."

I rolled my eyes, but my cheeks flared hot red. "You can be such an arse, Malfoy. I do not chase after him." I huffed. "Fine, but I am serious, Malfoy. I have to deal with a lot of my own work, plus others that aren't you. If you miss a class, I will personally go to the Slytherin common room and drag you to class."

"Yeah, whatever. So, when should we get started?" He suddenly looked bored and started to was watching the castle with a blank expression, so I started walking back to the school.

"Well, the paper is due on Friday. Do you want to get together tomorrow?" I would have to tell Harry and Ron-

"I can't tomorrow. I am busy." He cut my thoughts off quickly. "Wednesday would work better for me."

"That is only two days to work on the paper." I warned. Malfoy just shrugged and stared at me. "Alright, how about before potions? I have a free period."

"I have that same time off, so it will work fine." He nodded and then he started walking back to the castle. I shook my head and looked out to the lake, pulling my coat tighter around my body as clouds started to roll in.

 _What the hell did I just agree to?_

The next day the three of us were walking towards the transfiguration room when Slughorn turned the corner and walked straight towards us. I groaned. I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Harry and Ron about my talk with Draco yet, as I didn't want to discuss it over breakfast in front of people. This absolutely was a nightmare.

"Ah, Miss Granger, I have been looking for you everywhere!" boomed Professor Slughorn as walked up to me with his arms wide. Harry and Ron snickered a bit at the extravagance, but quieted down at the look I gave them.

"Professor, how are you today?" I asked politely, trying to control the nervous edge in my voice.

"I am doing just wonderful, of course! I wanted to thank you for agreeing to tutor Mr. Malfoy!" I saw the boys tense up, and there it is. I sighed, but Slughorn continued on oblivious to my dismay. "Of course, I would have rather Harry had. You really are my star pupil." He spoke directly to Harry at that part, just beaming like a proud father. I ground my teeth at that, ignoring Harry as he stiffly thanked Slughorn. "But of course, Draco just insisted that you would be better. Probably for the best anyway, wouldn't want Harry to fall behind!" He had a cheery smile on his face, which for some reason made me even more annoyed with this conversation.

"I look forward to helping Malfoy succeed in your class," I didn't really mean the words, I just wanted him to leave before Ron exploded. Judging by the red color of his ears, it was not going to be that long.

"Yes, yes, I am sure you will. Blimey! Look at the time! You three must be running late for classes. Just tell your professor that you were chatting with me and lost track of time, that should do the trick. Oh, and try not to ask Harry for too much help on the homework." And then that happy man just walked away with a chuckle at his little joke, completely unaware to how he just became my absolute least favorite teacher.

"Ask _you_ for help?!" I rounded on Harry, he was surprised but looked like he was about to explode as well. "Are you kidding me!? If you hadn't found that bloody book-"

"You are just upset that I am doing better than you at something for once!" Harry shouted back indignantly.

"Oh please! Harry, it's just that dumb book cheating for you! You don't even know who this _Half-blood Prince_ is!"

"Oh, come off it Hermione." Ron cut in before Harry and I could continue on the subject. "You're just trying to distract us from the fact that you _agreed_ to tutor Malfoy!"

"Yeah, what the bloody hell is that about?!" Harry asked, crossing his arms over his chest. I am sure that for anyone else, the boys would be really intimidating like this. When they are both standing there with angry eyes and glaring at you, it would make others cower. But not me, these boys were my family.

"Malfoy needed a tutor and asked me to be it. I agreed and that is the end of it." I said trying to walk away, but they both jumped in front of me. I fought back a groan and bit my tongue.

"Hermione, this is the boy that tortured the three of us for years. He is the one that called you all sorts of horrible names daily. He made you _cry_ on more occasions than I think you would admit." Harry said, trying to control his anger. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his already super messy black hair. Then he whispered in a low flat voice. "He might be a Death Eater."

"Harry, I do not believe that. I refuse to believe that Voldemort would want a 16 year old boy as a Death Eater. It just isn't logical!" I shook my head. "And don't you think that I know all of that? I was there Harry, through it all. I know what kind of person Malfoy was, probably still is, and I feel that way deeper than you think. But he needs help and I like helping people, why do you think I am best friends with you guys?" I chuckled as I tried to make a joke and Harry cracked a little bit of a smile. Ron, however, was not going to remain silent anymore.

"You want to help Malfoy? Draco Malfoy?! The spawn of a man that tried to kill you last year?!" I tried to cut in, but he just raised his voice higher, "Hermione there is not way you could actually be this stupid!"

I reeled back like I had been slapped, and looked toward Harry- who for his credit looked shocked at Rons statement. Immediately I flew into a rage.

"Ronald Weasley, I know you did not just call me stupid!" I shoved him hard in the chest. I could feel my heart beating wildly, I could hear it pounding in my ears, and I could feel my magic hum around me. "How dare you treat me that way!"

"Well what do you expect when you make stupid choices!?" He yelled back at me, doubling down on his insult. I hit him with my book bag. Harry finally stepped in and pushed Ron away from me.

"Draco Malfoy isn't the one that killed Sirius, Ronald! Draco Malfoy wasn't the one that sent curses flying towards us. I refuse to let him pay for the crimes of his father!"

"Yeah right, Hermione! You just want to do this because I don't want you to!" Ron shouted back.

"It's not always about you Ron! Maybe I just want a chance to study with someone that will actually talk to me about the material, INSTEAD OF JUST HAVING ME DO IT" I had tears in my eyes at this point. Why did he always have to get so angry?

"Great!" Ron exclaimed, he started shaking his head back and forth hard, "Fantastic! Go make friends with the enemy, Hermione, all because they can talk about Runes with you!" He started stomping off the opposite way that we were walking.

"Oi! Where do you think you are going?" Harry bellowed after him.

"I'm going back to bed. I suddenly feel sick to my stomach."

I wiped at my eyes and turned away from his retreating figure to try and get control of my breathing again. Harry came up and pulled me into a hug. I rested my head against his shoulder and took comfort in my best friends embrace.

"He will calm down after a while. He always does." He said soothingly. I huffed a laugh and pulled away from him.

"You are always so quick to defend him, Harry." I sniffled and he just shrugged. "I think this is the best choice for everyone, you know? Malfoy needs help and it was you or me."

Harry shuddered at the suggestion. "Well, thanks for taking one for the team I suppose. We just want you to be safe, Hermione. That's really all Ron wants, he's just pretty dumb about how he shows it." I nodded, but mentioned that I am more than capable of taking care of myself.

"I know." Harry said. " But that doesn't mean that we don't worry about you. Can we just join you for the first couple sessions?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "Draco adamantly refused when I had mentioned tutoring you all at the same time." We walked lazily to Transfiguration, knowing that we were completely late and really just not caring at all. Harry mentioned something about not caring what Draco thinks about it, and that he would probably be attending anyway. I sighed, knowing there was no reason to argue with him about it right now.

"Welcome to class, you two." McGonagall drawled when we walked into the class room. "I am sure that you all have an excellent excuse as to why you are late and where Mr. Weasley is. I would love to hear about it after class."

We nodded and took our seats. The class went by quickly, even though I had a stack of note almost 2 inches thick. We explained to McGonagall that we were talking to Slughorn before class, casually avoiding the part where he left and we had a fight. We noted that Ronald felt sick and had returned to the common room.

"Well, Mr. Weasley needs to see Madam Pomfrey if he is sick enough to be missing these classes." She scolded. "And as for you two, I understand that you were distracted by a professor. But you are more than capable of telling Professor Slughorn that you need to go to class. 5 points each will be taken from Gryffindor." I felt relieved, this was the lower end of the scale of what McGonagall would do to students who were tardy. Harry and I both nodded at her words and left the room.

Besides my fight with Ron, I felt like the conversation had gone alright. At least Harry had taken it much better than I had expected him to. Now Ron just needed to get over it, which is easier said then done.

 **Hello! So here we go, chapter 2! I hope that you are truly enjoying this story so far.**

 **Just so you know the next chapter will be in Draco's POV. The POVs wont go back and forth every chapter, but on occasion we will switch between Hermione and Draco. Hopefully it all works out without too much confusion, you can always post a review or message me if you have any questions or theories as well. I would love to hear from you guys! Thank you to the 3 of you who have reviewed so far and to the people who have followed the story. Im so excited!**

 **Please review *hearts***

 **Also, still looking for a beta reader! Thank you.**

 **Ali**


	4. Chapter Three

**I don't own Harry Potter, anything you recognise belongs to JKR.**

 **Enjoy and Please review!**

"What do you mean that you haven't started the assignment!?" She screeched, earning a piercing glare from Madam Pince. I rolled my eyes as I avoided her gaze. She looked a right mess today, it didn't help that her crazy hair seemed to grow frizzier as she got angrier with me.

"I didn't have time. I do have other classes you know." I was lounging back in the chair, "I told you, this wasn't exactly high on my priority list." She pushed hair out of her eyes with a huff of annoyance, Merlin she was bloody annoying.

"Malfoy, you had all day yesterday and most of today! I have already completed mine!" Then her posture shifted. "Harry and Ron have already started theirs." She must have assumed that hearing about how Potter and the Weasley King were working harder at class them him would get some type of reaction. But nothing occurred. She just stomped her foot, huffed- _again-_ and spun on her heal, out of the library.

I watched her leave and was so damn irritated by her, but couldn't bring myself to care. I yawned. I was absolutely exhausted and still had a million things to do. I grabbed my potions book that I didn't even open in my 10 minute tutor session and carefully shoved it back into my bag. I actually had started the paper, it wasn't even half bad, but I really didn't want to have to deal with Granger today. I'll let her stew for a bit, that way when the paper comes back with perfect marks I can watch her make that ridiculous face she gets whenever anyone bests her.  
I hiked my bag over my shoulder and started to the Room of Requirement. My mother had sent me a letter about how she hoped things were going well, both with my studies and the mission. Then she proceeded to remind me of the consequences, not just to me but to her and Father, that will occur should I fail. As if I could ever forget, I rubbed my still sore arm and shook my head. It wouldn't do to dwell on that right now.

 _I am in need of a place to hide things. I am in need of a place where I cannot be found. I am in need of the Room of Hidden Things._ The door appeared and I went inside. The room was crowded, packed with the discarded belongings of people, too pathetic to take care of them. An average person would get lost and spend hours wondering this place, but not me. I had been here every single day since I got back to Hogwarts. I knew every path, and the only one that would lead me to the place that I desperately wanted to avoid. Unfortunately, that was exactly the place that I was spending all of my time. _Left, left, right, right, left and straight ahead._ The box stood there, fitting in perfectly to the surroundings, yet looking like a giant red mark on a whiteboard to me. The etching on the panels of the cabinet could have been beautiful, if the purpose for them weren't as ugly as the task I was sent with was. The wood was still cracked and lacking luster, but that isn't why I was here to repair it. The Dark Lord gave me a task, get Deatheaters into Hogwarts. No matter what.

 _We were lucky_ , he whispered, _that Draco is such a gifted member of our order_. He was just using me. I knew it. He knew it. Yet, I was still expected to act honored, never scared. There was only ever one path that I was supposed to take, this is what I am supposed to be. I hated everything; this box, the mark on my arm, my family.

I hated my very soul most days.

It was just a stupid incantation that was supposed to repair the blasted thing, but no matter how many time I uttered the phrase, nothing happened. After that idiot Motague told me about this cabinet, I figured it would be a quick and easy fix. I could get it done, kill Dumbeldore and walk away. Borgin said the box could be finicky, I am sure the cracked and splintered wood had something to do with it too,

I pulled out my wand and held it to the cabinet.

"Harmonia nectere passus. Harmonia nectere passus." The wood shimmered slightly, a sudden hope flared inside me, but it died just as quickly as the shimmer. I cursed. I picked up a random object and chucked it hard against the wall. I was breathing hard, I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. I just wanted to scream.

So I did.

When my voice was scratchy and my throat was raw, I turned back to the cabinet. I laid my head against the wood and repeated the spell over and over. I repeated it until the words sounded foreign and fake, until the sun was gone, until it was so late I debated just staying up the rest of the night. I sat on the ground, leaning against the table near the enterence of the room, I finally broke and let tears fall.

He was going to kill us all.

—

I groaned, loudly as Potter and Weasley started shouting at the professor. Slughorn had just announced that I "just absolutely must sit next to Ms. Granger" so that she can correct any mistakes that I make in real time. She simply rolled her eyes and sat next to me, but her loyal hounds were throwing a major hissy fit.

"Well, now Harry," Slughorn said with a wide, undeterred smile, "would you rather Mr. Malfoy sat next to you? You were my first pick for his tutor after all." The class giggled slightly at that and I plastered a sharp sneer on my face to anyone that dared look at me.

Potter and Weasley shut up pretty quick after that, thank fucking merlin. But I kept seeing them shooting daggers at me while sending apologetic glances towards the annoyed witch at my side.

We didn't speak at first, we didn't glance at each other, it was all I could do to keep from bumping into to her. I just wanted her away from me. I started thinking about a way to get out of this class, maybe ask Snape to excuse me or-

She grabbed his hand and jerked it away from the pot. I yanked my hand out of hers, disgust all over my face.

"What the fu-"

"Malfoy! Do you realize that you almost did? You started stirring clockwise!" She held up the potions book and flopped it around in my face. I ground my teeth together. "It clearly says counter-clockwise or you could cause it to become unstable! How could you be so stupid!?"

The whole class was looking at us now, but all I could see were her angry eyes glaring up at me.

"Don't. You. Dare. Touch. Me. Again."My voice was low and ice cold, I knew that I would look intimidating, towering over her short frame. I saw her resolve shake, but only for a moment, before she squared her shoulders and continued to glare. I shook my head and sat down on the stool. "I don't care about this stupid potion anyway." I knew I sounded like a insolent child, but I just wanted to leave. I was tired, and I just wanted to be done. I didn't want to be myself, I was drained of being that person. But sometimes we don't pick our own masks.

I closed my eyes and put my head on the desk. I felt Granger flop down in her chair and reach for a vial to make samples out of her potion. The class returned to their own potions, but I am sure there were still people glancing back at us anyway. Right before the end of the class Granger bumped into my shoulder.

"Hey. Take this." she said it softly.

I sat up and saw that she had bottled a sample of her potion for me to turn in. Was she seriously helping me right now? Part of me knew that I should say thank you, part of me wanted to, but there was no way. I raised one eye brow and smiled cruely at her. "What makes you think I want your pity, Granger?"

"It's not pity," she said, rolling her eyes and then labeling the potion with my name anyway, "it's self-preservation. I told you, how you do in class reflects on me. Even more so now that I am your potions partner." She sat the vial down in front of me and then start to completely avoid looking at me. She started chewing on the side of her lip. I wondered if she was even aware of it. "Actually, maybe there is a little pity too. You do look really tired."

I blanched. Was it that obvious?

"Well, I am not." I snatched the vial anyway though, "Since you clearly ruined my potion when you grabbed me, and I am likely to think it was sabotage, I will take this anyway."

I strolled to the front of the class and, with much flourish, dropped the vial into the can for the assignment and strolled out of the classroom. Maybe now I could go get some sleep.

 **AN:**

 **Hey! I want to start by saying thank you to everyone! I love getting emails saying there is a new review, or favorite, or follow. It really makes me excited to share this story with you. So since I had the last couple chapters mostly publish ready, they happened a lot faster than I thought. The chapters after this will be coming at about once a week, probably fridays or saturdays.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter. I felt like we needed to see how Draco was feeling in the beginning, so that when his feelings or thoughts start to change later, we see the progress. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but the rest of them should be at least 2,000.**

 **I don't have a beta reader yet, so any mistakes you find are very much mine. Please let me know if you see any, also let me know if you are interested in being a beta reader for me! I would absolutely love to have someone to bounce ideas off of.**

 **Okay, this is getting a little long, so I will see you next time!**

 **QUICK UPDATE 6/30/18 I found my story notes and realized that i already fudged the time line a little bit already. All the chapters are going to be updated real quick to make sure the timeline fits. A new chapter will be up by next week, if not sooner, but I want to do this first, before I confuse myself. Thank you!**

 **Ali**


	5. Chapter Four

**Hey everyone! I want to apologize real quick about the delay. I went camping and - go figure- there was no wifi or electricity for when my laptop died. So it's late but here it is! It took me a while to decide how I wanted this chapter to go, but I'm pretty please with how it turned out. Enjoy!**

-2 weeks later-

"Hermione, are you coming to Hogsmeade with us or not?" Harry was bundled up in his coat and trying to get his hat to cover his ears, it was clearly too small though. I glanced out the window, the trees were practically bent to the ground with the wind pounding them. He caught where my gaze was and rolled his eyes, but gently added,"We are taking the carriages, if that make its any better."

I honestly had so much to do, I thought about the written paper of Malfoy's that I had yet to go over. He had seemed pretty sure of himself when he gave it to me, so I was itching to find something wrong with it, so far no luck.

"Well," I started slowly, "I am out of sugar quills." Harry's face broke out into a slightly strained smile.

"Brilliant, I'll let Ron know that we are waiting for you."

I shook my head at the mention of Ron. He was as completely blinded by Harry's new book as Harry was. So much so that he thought it was hilarious that Harry lifted him by his ankle this morning. Listening to him at breakfast go on about how great the spell was had really put a damper on my morning, not to mention I still felt slightly guilty about the fight that we had because of it.

The village of Hogsmeade was frigid, far worse than it had looked from the windows of the Gryffindor tower. People didn't bother to stop and greet each other before barreling into the shops they were trying to get to. If anyone had something they wanted to say, it could wait until they were safely inside one of the warm buildings.

Harry, Ron, and myself were bundled with hats and scarves, and even with the help of a warming charm, were hounded by the wind. We spent much more time in Honeydukes that we had anticipated. Even though the shop was packed full of people getting their sweets, the lines weren't very long to purchase them. Everyone was mainly mulling around to avoid being outside. The only snag was the run in with Professor Slughorn, once again trying to get Harry to come to one of his dinner parties. I tried to assure Harry that sometimes they were actually fun, seeing as I had been to three of them now, but Ron's mood had soured so I distracted him with Deluxe sugar quills and bought him a few. So naturally that meant I spent more money on candy that I thought I would.

Soon, Mr. Flumes wife came hustling about and kicking people out who had already bought their sweets or those who weren't buying.

"Bad for business having so many people hanging about the shop!" She chattered "People glance in the window and think 'next time'! Now go on, you already got your sweets!" She was a sweet lady so no one took her shooing them out too heavily. Harry, after getting an extra licorice wand from the shopkeeper, Ron and I braced ourselves as the door opened. The winter cold took our breath away instantly and we wordlessly agree to hurry off to The Three Broomsticks.

I was rather shocked to see Harry start flying off the handle, right in front of the door at one of the Orders members, that is until I realized what was happening, I grabbed at my wand but Mundungus had already disapparated and Harry started screaming even more.

"Harry, HARRY!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the pub to a semi-well hidden corner and put my hands on either side of his face, trying to get him to focus on me. "Ron go get us a table. Harry, listen to me-"

"That's Sirius's stuff Hermione." He was livid, but beyond that he was hurt. He was moments away from breaking down. I could see it, even if he thought he was only angry. His eyes held rage and a pain that broke my own heart to see. I pulled him into a tight hug and he immediately sank into it.

Harry was like a brother to me. I confided in him with just about everything and when it came to the one person that I knew I could trust beyond a doubt, it was Harry. Sure he was a dunderhead sometimes and we fought about really trivial things, I know that he is going to be in my life forever. So when I get the chance to be there for him, I take it. As protective of me as he thinks he is, I am even more protective of him. And I knew right now that he truly didn't care about what the stuff was, but it was the fact that it was Sirius's. Harry still hadn't fully grieved his godfather, and I was unsure at this point if he would any time soon. It must be a terrible feeling and I wanted to save him from that.

"I know, Harry." I spoke softly and gently rubbed the back of his head, "We can talk to Remus and Dumbledore about it. I promise that we will get back as much of Sirius's items that we can." He nodded but took another minute to collect his thoughts and steady his breathing.

"Thanks for calming me down." He said with a smile as he pulled away. "And sorry about this morning." I waved my hand, completely dismissing his apology. Besides, I know we will have more arguments about that blasted book later.

"Let's not worry about that right now, but you know I am always here for you so no thanks needed. Come, lets go find out where Ron has us seated." with a scowl I continued, trying to cheer him up, "I bet we have a perfect view of Madam Rosmerta." Harry barked a laugh and nodded his agreement. I had been correct of course. Our table was perfectly seated to see the bar and its keeper bustling around. I rolled my eyes and went and fetched us all butterbeers. When I came back I had to pass by Blaise Zabini, who was lounging causally near our table. I stopped in front of him, he regarded my coolly.

"Can I help you, Granger?"

"Is Malfoy here?" His eye brown shot up in surprise, so I hurried to add, "I had a question about his paragraph on the effects Malaclaw in potions." Truth was his essay was fine. I had gone over it with him yesterday and his essay had some excellent points that made me go back to the common room and immediately start editing it. I wasn't sure why, but something about him had seemed off when we last spoke and I was curious to see how he was.

"Sorry to disappoint, but he has got detention today." he responded distractedly, not even looking at me. Instead I noticed his concentration was firmly on the barkeep now. I rolled my eyes, what is it with teenage boys and Madam Rosmerta? "But I will be sure to mention to Draco that you were looking for him. Now, if you'll excuse me." Without giving me a chance to respond, or more likely to ask him not to mention my question to the blonde Slytherin, he left straight for the bar. I sighed, knowing I would probably get an earful from Malfoy about asking for him, and took the drinks to Ron and Harry.

Harry downed his quickly and immediately went for another, the effects of knowing the fate of some of Sirius's belongings still bursting. Ron however drank leisurely and tried to steal glances of the lady of the inn without me noticing. Men.

After I finished my drink, Harry having polished off his third, we decided to call it a day at Hogsmeade. It had not been the most pleasant of trips and the winter storm had rolled in hard as we had drank. I held on to Harry and Rons' arms tightly, the wind threatening to knock us over, when we heard the blood curdling scream of a girl in front of us on the path. Harry seemingly sobered and rushed forward immediately, hand on his wand, with Ron and I hot on his heels. My hand flew to my mouth as I saw Katie suspended in midair, hair whipping around her still shrieking. Harry and Ron were able to catch her limp form once she fell. I screamed and ran forward feeling helpless watching her twitch and writhe.

Harry ran off to find help and very soon came back with Hagrid. It felt like a lifetime by the time the groundskeeper scooped her into his arms and took off towards the castle, calling for us to follow him. I was shaking as we hurried our way back to the school. Katie's friend Leanne was sobbing hard and leaning on my for support, adding pain in my shoulder to the pain from the wind and hike. I joke bitterly to myself about how she was able to cry, as the wind and snow had felt cold enough to freeze her tears solid.

As we entered the school Harry began to prattle about how Malfoy knew about the necklace and how it could have been he that caused this to happen. I held my tongue, hoping that he would it get out of his system with me and Ron, before we had to speak to Dumbledore or McGonagall about what occurred. But even with Ron- Ron of all people- trying to tell Harry that that didn't make much sense, the butterbeer in Harry won out and he spilt all his thoughts to McGonagall.

To say that the room had gotten tense fast was an understatement. Ron and I felt horribly out of place, I admit I shuffled away from Harry when he explained his theory. The problem wasn't so much that Harry was thinking all this, but that he firmly believed it enough to tell a teacher that a fellow student was capable of cursing someone. It was ridiculous and McGonagall said just as much.

"Harry," I said softly cutting in on his rambling and protesting, "I don't think that Draco was even there today. Blaise said that he had detention."

"That is correct, Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall said, with a slightly surprised expression on her face, "Mr. Malfoy has failed to complete several homework assignments and as such was in detention with me today. Now, Mr. Potter, I am going to chalk all this nonsense up to you indulging a bit too much at the Thee Broomsticks and nothing more. I know you and Mr. Malfoy have a tense history to say the least, but it would be wise of you to drop this notion and not spread this to anyone else." She stood up to her fullest height and then excused herself to check on Katie and Leanne, sending us to the common room.

Harry was indignant the whole way up the stairs and I finally had to make my excuses and go to the library instead. Harry Potter was far to stubborn for his own good and when he got on a tangent like this, the best thing to do was let him wear himself down. Hopefully he would just go to sleep and wake up embarrassed about his whole outburst in the morning.

I was nearly to my favorite chair in the very back of the library, when I saw a flash of silver blonde hair and halted. I could tell instantly that it was Draco, though his demeanor seemed slightly off. I took a deep breath and walked over to him.

"Hey, Malfoy," my voice was quiet, even though I knew we were the only two currently in the large room.

"Is there something you need, Granger, or are you just here to heckle me?" His voice didn't have its usual bite, but it wasn't welcoming either, just slightly nervous sounding. I bit my lip and decided to push my luck, I took a seat across from his. His expression soured, but he didn't object.

"Quite the opposite actually. I wanted to commend you on the essay you wrote yesterday, it was surprisingly well researched." His eyebrow raised at that, and his lips twitched into a cocky smirk. His knee kept bouncing rather hurriedly, even as he leaned back in his chair to stretch.

"You are here to compliment me? Seems like you are finally learning your place, eh Granger?" I flared with anger momentarily, but took a steady breath.

"If you mean at the top of our class and the smartest witch of our age? Then yeah, I learned my place." I shook my head. "I just wanted to commend you is all. I guess that I just feel like I need to get everything off my chest and decompress. After what I saw Katie go through, I just wanted-"

"What do you mean, what Katie went through? Katie Bell?" His tone was serious and clipped. His knee stopped shaking and he immediately leaned forward. I nodded, shocked by his response to her name, I had no idea that he knew her or that they were friends. But by his concern, I almost wondered if they were something more. I leaned in towards him as well, my voice growing even quieter.

"She was cursed." Did I imagine the color draining from his face, the slight quiver that started in his lip? They seemed to vanish almost as soon as I noticed them. "A necklace of some sort-"

He bolted from the room. I sat there totally shocked and completely floored. That conversation had taken a completely weird and unexpected turn. I quickly gathered my belongings into my bag and, with a slight hesitation, gathered Draco's as well, figuring I could leave them at Madam Pinces' desk on the way out. As I dropped my bag onto the desk that I sat at, I looked down at Draco's.

Who would have though? Draco Malfoy having a thing for Katie Bell? I smiled, shaking my head, and pulled out my transfiguration book.

 **Well what do you think? Leave a review letting me know how this chapter ended up to you! Also, for those who are following, I have completely rewritten the preface and changed chapters 1 &2, chapter 3 will be edited and revised soon. It did change Draco's tone and attitude a bit, as well as making the time line more clear. But as long as you are willing to roll with it you don't necessarily have to reread them. But if you want to and let me know if you love them more now, I would love to hear from you.**

 **Thanks and always**

 **Ali**


	6. Chapter Five

The news about Katie had spread fast, by the morning the whole school knew about it. Everyone kept craning their necks at breakfast to see if she would somehow appear in the Great Hall, like nothing happened. Harry had to deal with people asking questions, but he adamantly refused to talk about it. I had a feeling that had less to do with Harry being protective over Katie and more to do with him being embarrassed about having drunk so much and subsequently pointing the finger at Malfoy. Leanne was dismissed from classes for the day, so no one saw her or was able to ask her about how she thinks things happened. Out of everyone in the school though, only four people wouldn't talk about it. Draco Malfoy and his friends seemed to be too cool and calm to be worried about what had happened, and they told people the heard to bugger off about it. It was rather a strange turn from Draco's reaction to hearing about Katie yesterday.

I was sitting in the common room before potions and pretending to be too engrossed in my book to hear Harry continue on his anti-Malfoy theories. Ronald at least had the good sense to not engage with Harry's ideas, as much as I am sure he had considered such things in his own mind. The truth was I couldn't help but think Harry was extremely off on this, not that I could tell him though. I saw how worried Draco was when he found out that Katie had been hurt. To me, that proved that he cared about her on some level- it wasn't my place to try to guess how much- so therefore he would never have put her in danger. But if I told Harry any of that he would have considered me mad and thought I was losing it for talking to Malfoy alone. For me, there was someone else out there, much scarier than Draco Malfoy could ever hope to be, that would try and use students to hurt Professor Dumbledore. I was worried about myself, sure, but I was even more worried about my friends. Harry and Ron always seemed to have a knack for getting themselves into the most dangerous situation possible, so it was my job to help keep them safe.

The bell rang and Harry offered his hand out to me to help me up. I shoved everything into my bag and accepted it, thanking him as I got my balance and started towards Potions class. The first thing that I noticed was Draco laughing at something that Blaise Zabini had said. Clearly he was already over the whole Katie thing. I wondered slightly if he had been able to contact her and that was why he was so much better than the last time I had seen him. The second thing I noticed was Blaise Zabini lounging in my seat next to Draco. I rolled my eyes and pulled my bag more securely on my shoulder and walked to them with my head held high. I dropped my bag next to the side of the desk with a loud thunk and smiled widely, and very clearly fakely, at the pair of Slytherins.

"Hello, Zabini. Are you having a pleasant day?" The smirk that both boys sent me was enough to make me struggle to not clench my hands into fists.

"Oh quite, Granger. I was just telling Draco how I wish a fiesty muggleborn would just present herself to me." Draco snorted and I took a deep breath. Blaise Zabini was as much of a rumored playboy as Draco was. It seemed that he had a different witch hanging off his arm every other month. It wasn't fair that someone as good looking as him had the personality of a blasted-end skwert. He was a deep caramel color, with dark hair, and eyes to match. His eyes may be dark, but the pulled you in like a beautiful trap. He was tall and extremely well built. If he wasn't such an arrogant prick he would have been nearly as attractive as Ron.

"That poor dear, should she appear send her my way so that I can erase you from her memory. I'm sure it wouldn't have been a great experience anyway." I shot back rather haughtly, peeved that he would talk like that to me.

"I could show you what kind of experience it is, if you want Granger." His expression may have dropped with my words, but his voice was still just as confident and silky as ever.

"Zabini, you wouldn't want to lower yourself so much." Malfoy said with a laugh and shoved him on the shoulder. Blaise smiled, but his eyes remained on me, making me slightly uncomfortable as he was clearly checking me out. I huffed and shot a look toward the front of the classroom, hoping that Slughorn would be getting ready by now. No such luck however.

"Pass, besides, I wouldn't want to take away from whoever's week it is." Blaise smirked at me and stood out of my seat and waved his hand to signal me to sit.

"Granger, you could have a whole month if you wanted." He blew me a kiss, and laughed as I visiablly shuttered, and walked back to his assigned seat. I saw him wink at Ron and Harry, who had been unable to hear the conversation, but more than able to see my reactions. I saw Harry raise his eyebrows at me, a clear question if I was okay. I nodded back and gave him a smile before plopping down in my chair.

"Your friend is ridiculous, Malfoy." I started while fishing in my bag for my potions book. "There's no way he would last a month with a single girl."

"I agree, he would probably run screaming if you ever actually took him up on that. He starts getting panicky by the end of a week with some of them. He was just trying to get to you." then he smirked at me, "Which he clearly did. Seriously Granger, I didn't know anyone besides Weaslebe could get some red so quickly." I flushed again, cursing my ipale skin for displaying my blush so easily.

"Yes, well, its not like I have been propositioned like that before. It was enough to get anyone a little red." He clearly opened his mouth to retort, but finally- Miraculously even- Slughorn appeared and decided to get the class session underway.

"I wonder how Katie is doing, Harry is supposed to hear from Dumbledore soon maybe he could get an update." I said cautiously, testing his reaction. I could see him school his features and he gave a shrug.

"Not like it matters anyway, she probably shouldn't have tried to open anything that wasn't hers in the first place. Serves her right, in my opinion." He didn't glance at me once, then I could sense his mood sour slightly, and I knew he was full of it. I simply returned my gaze to Professor Slughorn and pulled my parchment out of my bag, figuring that his feelings for Katie were something that I should clearly stay away from.

The class finished swiftly and there was little conversation between me and Draco for the rest of the class. He hurriedly left the classroom without so much as an insult and Blaise swept after him, behind just long enough to salute me for heading off.

"What was that about?" Ron demanded. He clearly had been stewing about whatever happened at the beginning of class. I shrugged, not really wanting to tell the as I knew both of them would overreact.

"Nothing more than the usual. What do you two have planned for the rest of the day?"

"Well we have quidditch practice at 7:30, but nothing really besides that." Harry said leading the way back up to the common room. "I was actually thinking of getting some studying-" instantly my hunches were up.

"If you mean reading that stupid book of yours, that isn't studying Harry. You still don't know anything about this so called half blood prince." I snapped at him. Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise, before his anger caught up.

"Do you really want to fight about this again, Hermione? Didn't we just get into this yesterday?! Why can't you just leave it alone!"

"Because, Harry, it could be dangerous! You play with spells that I have never heard of and-"

"And you have heard of every spell there is, right?" Ron chimed in, angry on behalf of Harry. That hurt, even thought I know Ron will always choose Harry, it still hurt that he never saw it from my perspective.

"No." I snapped back "But I have been looking into this so called 'Prince' name and there is no such person! Either way that is besides the point. Wouldn't it just make more sense to give the book to Slughorn and use the brand new copy that you paid for?"

"So that you can be number one in potions again?" Harry snorted.

"NO!" I seriously felt like ripping my hair out, how do this conversations always seem to spin in circles. "I couldn't care less about getting top marks in Potions-"

"Yeah, right." Ron muttered I gave him and look, but continued talking anyway.

"What I care about is you performing magic based on something someone scribbled into the book. You don't know where it came from, or what this magic can do, and yet you follow it blindly. You could get hurt, or hurt someone else in the process!"By the end of my rant my hands had curled into fists. My nails were digging into my hands with a sharp bite. Didn't that make sense? Didn't Harry realize that he could get hurt, or hurt Ron, or even that he could hurt me? My eyes stung with tears I fought back. All I wanted, all I ever wanted to do, was take care of them. Why did they always make that so ridiculously challenging?

"Whatever, Hermione." Harry rolled his eyes and started walking away and Ron was quick to follow him. "The spell was harmless and you know it. Maybe you should just leave me alone for a while. I'm tired of fighting with you."

I wanted to scream at them, maybe just scream in general. My heart was racing, my head hurt, and I just needed to breathe. I started for the stairs and quickly made my way outside. I didn't go far, sticking close to the castle door. The wind had died down a lot from yesterday, but the cold still clung to the air. The sun was setting, I knew because it was late in the day, but it was hard to tell since the clouds were still so thick and casted grays on the land. The snow in the courtyard had been churned by the feet of hundreds of students, stipping it of its perfect white color, and turning it to mud.

I leaned against the castle wall and pulled out my wand to practice my charm work. There was this spell that created little, almost glass-like, birds that I read about and wanted to try. They of course appeared on the first try and I sighed. They were beautiful little things. I stayed outside till my fingers got numb working on the exact design of the bird, picturing different feathers and sizes. I went back inside happy with my progress, sad about my fight with Ron and Harry, and tired. All I could hope for was that the fight would end quickly and that the rest of the night would be better.

Draco POV

I wasn't exactly lost, I knew that once I reached the main hallway I would be able to find my way back to the stairs, and from the go back to the dungeons. I knew that if I were to start making noise or break something, that someone would hear and be able to locate me easily enough. I knew that. But I was sitting on a staircase I had never seen before, that couldn't have been used in the last decade since it lead straight to a brick wall, far enough from the rest of the castle that I couldn't hear a single person. It was still early enough in the day people should be about, yet it was dead silence here. It was also darker, the candles nearby nearly melted down to the end and the flame was barely strong enough to cast shadows.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ The mantra rang through my head over and over as I struggled to catch my breath and slow my heart. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ Tears pooled in the back of my eyes and I fought like hell to not let them flow. I pushed my head deeper into my palms, my fingers covered my ears as if that would block the voices that lived in my mind. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. I was sinking into a full blown panic attack and I knew it. A similar one happened yesterday after Granger told me what happened to Katie. _NO!_ I rocked back and forth, my hands traveling up through my hair and grabbing onto the back of my neck as I fought my own thoughts.

I had been fine, most of the day, but there was something in the way that I had reacting when Granger started talking about Katie in potions. I barely had a grip on myself and it took everything in my power to sit there through Slughorn's god awful attempt at a potions lecture. I escapes Blaise as swiftly as I could, almost running through the castle to find a place as isolated as this one.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ I would hear from them soon. I dreaded it, not only would they want to hear of the progress that I was making on the cabinet, they would want to know by extension how my mission against Dumbledore was going. They would know about Katie, already, there was no point in trying to save face with that royal screw up. I gasped for breath as I thought about the punishment, that no doubt waited for my to arrive home the moment that I could. The Dark Lord will be keeping a tally and he would deal each punishment out swiftly, probably before my things are unpacked for the holidays. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as the idea of my punishments being inflicted on my mother in my absence. That was always the fear, that is what is motivating me right now to even continue with this mission and not just walk away and tell Dumbledore. The tears flowed freely as my heart started to hurt.

I didn't want to hurt anyone, not Dumbledore, not my mother, and certainly not Katie Bell. I didn't know the girl well enough to wish anything bad on her, but what happened to her was on me. I, and I alone, caused this girl to be in the path of a deadly artifact that nearly ended her life. It was my first near brush with murder and it felt like it was absolutely killing me. I hung my head and allowed the sobs to quietly and they slightly echoed in the hallway. I wrapped my arms tight around my torso and leaned against the wall. I felt empty inside. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

"Malfoy?" I instantly snapped my head up. Her eyes were full of worry and sympathy, coming from her it made me angry (but also kind of relieved? I buried that part deep inside.)

Of course Hermione bloody Granger would find me right now.

 **AN:  
** Thank you everyone for your constant support through this story so far. I love getting emails saying that people are favoriting and following it. I am glad to know there are people out in the world that are enjoying the words that I write.

That being said, I would absolutely love to get reviews from you guys! It would make my whole day if you could take just a minute to tell me what you think so far and what you hope to see soon.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Ali


	7. Chapter Six

I do not own any part of Harry Potter, that is JKR. 

"Malfoy?"

The boy was a wreck, his shirt was disheveled and his tie was loose and crooked around his neck. He had clearly been pulling at his hair, the state of it worse than even Harry's morning bed head. Worst of all those were his eyes.

They were red and swollen with the tears that kept escaping as he looked at me and struggled to pull himself together. They were full of pain, I had seen the same expression in many people over the last two years, too many to count. I dropped to my knees in front of him, even as he flinched away while wiping at his face.

"Draco, what is wrong?" My heart shouldn't hurt for the person in front of me, I shouldn't care, but I did. He sniffled and scooted away from me, closer to the wall.

"Nothing I would ever tell you." He tried to sound tough, but his usual arrogance was missing from his voice. I sighed and sat back against the wall on the opposite side facing him.

"Can I help at all?" I studied him closely. He wasn't wearing his robe, so his stark white shirt made it clear there were no injuries. I felt at a loss, I had never seen Draco Malfoy anything less than pompous and entitled. But seeing this broken boy on the steps made me want to reach out and help him.

"Honestly, Granger, just get lost." He said with a sad sneer, still not looking at me. I gave a small smirk back.

"Sorry, but no can do. As a prefect it would be terribly unwise for me to leave you here alone, so close to curfew." He snorted, we both knew curfew was a couple hours out and since he was a prefect it wouldn't have mattered much either way. He rubbed his eyes and, surprising me, kept them closed and just leaned back against the wall.

We sat there in semi-awkward silence for awhile, I honestly couldn't tell how long I was there for. I refreshed the candles around us, brightening the small hide-away, and transfigured a cushion for me to sit on. After another bout of silence with me just playing with my hair and Draco just ignoring me, I pulled out my wand and started working on my birds again.

"How did you do those?" his voice startled me and I ended the charm abruptly. The tiny birds weren't intricate at all, but he picked up one of the finished ones. "These aren't the ones we are learning about in Transfiguration."

"No they aren't." I said simply, a small proud smile on my face. "I did that spell, but the birds faded over time, I wanted to have something that I could perfect and keep. I went to the library and found this spell and have been practicing it ever since."

"Hmm." he muttered, turning the little glass life-like bird in his hand. His eyebrows arched as the bird slowly started changing from its clear glass to a light almost watercolored green. "Did you do that?"

I shook my head, "It's another part of the spell that I don't quite understand. Most of the birds that I hold tend to become a mustard yellow hue. Maybe it just adapts to whoever's holding its favorite color."

My face got hot a bit after I realized that I had shared my favorite color, I wasn't sure if even Harry or Ron knew that. The only person that I knew for sure that knew it was my favorite color was Mrs. Weasley. He nodded slightly. We sat there in silence for a little while longer, before the clocks bells went off signalling dinner time.

I stood up and used my wand to get rid of all the practice birds that were around the floor, leaving the one in Draco's hands alone. Even if he wasn't the biggest fan of me, I could see him studying it. I smiled softly as I stored my wand and left him alone with his thoughts.

Draco POV

I couldn't really explain it, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to even consider it, but I was feeling better. Granger may have been the last person that I had wanted to see, but it was like she knew exactly what I needed. Companionship, without having to bat away questions about why I was feeling like this. Then, being the stupid show off that she is, distracted me with this almost brilliant display of magic.

I turned the bird over in my hands. The green was soft, it was like it was barely there. Grangers theory about the favorite color made sense, since this mint color was indeed my favorite color. The boldness of emerald green was too bright for my tastes, though if anyone asked that was the color I went with, had to maintain house pride after all.

I shook my head at the small object as I pocketed it. I couldn't believe that at one point, I had believed that she was anything other than a gifted witch. Not to say I didn't still hate her, because I did, but damn she was skilled. Would I ever tell anyone that? No.

I gathered myself together, fixed my clothes and my hair, and headed for the Great Hall. Almost immediately after sitting down, Blaise plopped himself down next to me and started filling his plate.

"I couldn't find you after potions." He said, acting like he couldn't care less. But I knew Blaise, he was probably my only real friend, he cared. I smirked.

"Don't worry about it Blaise, I had some personal matters to take care of."

Blaise rolled his eyes, but understood that I was not going to talk about what had happened. It was one of the reasons that we were such great friends, we both have boundaries and we allow the other to keep theirs.

"I think I am gonna ask Granger for some extra study help." He said with a smirk, not even looking at me. Which was great because it actually made me pause, before I just continued eating. "I mean, I don't really need the help, but it could be fun to ruffle her feathers on a more personal basis."

"By all means, go for it, then maybe she will leave me be for longer than two seconds." I shrugged.

"I don't know how you get any studying done anyway, Granger is a babe." He stated plainly, it made me choke on my food. Blaise thumped my back once and I quickly took a sip of water, staring at him wide-eyed the whole time.

"Clearly you need your eyes checked." I glanced over at Granger. "She is probably the least attractive person at Hogwarts, Blaise. Even Goyle could do better than her." Blaise laughed and shook his head.

"You're insane, but I will let you keep living in your fantasy world." He smirked and then turned to Daphne and started talking to her quietly. Whatever he said must have had an impact of her, because her face quickly blushed and he looked very proud of himself. I rolled my eyes at him and looked back at Granger.

Blaise was the insane one, she was nothing if not plain. Her bushy hair made her head look much bigger than it probably was, even if it had toned down considerably since first year. She was... she was just a frumpy prude and would probably stay that way forever. Watching her hang off of Weasleys every word just went to show how pathetic she was. I shook off my thoughts of her and focused on my plate. I just wanted this year to be over already.

 **Hey, long time no see** **!** **I have to apologize for both how long this chapter took and and the shortness of it. I am without a computer currently, so I had to borrow a friend of mine just to get what I had up for you. I promise that as filler as this chapter seems, there were a few ends I needed to weave, everything has a purpose. I hope the next chapter will come out in the next week or so, but it could be longer...**

 **I am still in the process of editing the previous chapters as well, and filling stuff out, keep your fingers crossed for a new laptop for me! Also, if you are interested in Beta Reading for me, please PM me!**

 **As always,**

 **Ali**


	8. Chapter Seven

I sat alone in the library and huffed as I looked at the clock again. Draco was late, a good hour late no less, and I hadn't heard anything from him since yesterday in the stairwell. Maybe he got embarrassed about me seeing him while he was crying and skipping the session until he figured it would be forgotten, not that it would be anytime soon. I glanced around and didn't see him coming at all, I shoved my books and the essay that I was working on in the bag and slung it over my shoulder. I waved to Madam Pince was I walked out and she nodded back to me, our typical goodbye and walked straight into someone coming in.

"Whoa, careful there Granger." I looked up and realized that I crashed into Blaise Zabini.

"Sorry, I just wasn't looking where I was going." He laughed and shrugged.

"It happens. Where are you heading off to? Don't you and Draco have a study session tonight? I was hoping I could tag along." He gestured to the bag that he was carrying. I shifted my bag and sighed.

"Apparently not, he never showed up." He scrunched his eyebrows and shook his head, seeming upset about this revelation.

"Don't let it get to you, he is just being a stubborn arse." I laughed and nodded in agreement. "Would you like to study with me? I am not doing as poorly as Draco in classes, actually I hold my own really well, but it might be nice to bounce ideas off of someone who actually takes school seriously, and isn't just looking to copy my answers." This takes me aback. That was seriously an offer that seemed to come right out of my head, something I have wanted for a while. I squinted at him slightly, searching for any sign that this was some time of trick or something that he was going to use to embarrass me, but after not seeing anything that would point to that I smiled at him.

"Sure." I turned back around and walked to my table, Madam Pince smiled at me and Blaise, before bustling off to do something or other. "What classes did you want to do tonight?"

We spent the next hour and a half talking about different potions and their active uses. We argued about which spell was the best and how much we would actually use other spells that we were taught. He was surprisingly good company, he was witty and smart, as well as funny. I noticed that he used his hand a lot less than Ron or Harry did when they spoke, it was nice for a change not to have to lean away from his when he started talking about something he felt confident in.

We were discussing the uses of Acromantula venom when Draco walked into the door. He looked tired and defeated. I was going to get to my feet, but Blaise beat me to it.

"Hey, Draco, are you okay?" Draco's head snapped up and he looked so confused by Blaise's appearance, but then a switch clicked in his brain. He clearly his his tiredness and smiled smugly at him. It would have been convincing, if I hadn't seen him when he walked in.

"What are you doing here, Zabini?" I rolled my eyes at his gruffness, before the worry of his appearance before he hid it reappeared.

"I was studying with Granger, I told you that I was going to join your next study session, remember?"

"I didn't think you were serious." Draco said with a laugh, "But I guess any company is better than the company of those two buffoons she normally studies with. Isn't that right, Granger?" I took a deep breath, just simply reminding myself that he was clearly going through something and lashing out.

"It is getting late." I stated, gathering my things into my bag again. after hoisting it onto my shoulder I walked the few steps and stood before both boys. "Blaise it was great to study with you, you are more than welcome to any of the sessions that we have. Would you give me a moment with Draco, though? There is something I need to discuss with him."

Both boys reacted to that, but Blaise quickly pulled on a poker face and smiled at me. "The pleasure was mine, Granger. I'll see you next time." He grabbed his bag and the book off the table and winked at me. My face flamed quickly, causing him to smirk and walk out of the library. Damn. Was Blaise Zabini always so cute, or am I just losing it? I shook my head, trying to physically clear those thoughts from my head and turned to face Draco. My words got caught in my throat as his mask slipped and the defeated expression came back.

"Are you okay, Draco?" I put my hand on his arm, only sighing when he quickly pulled it away from my touch.

"No, Granger, I am not. I don't even know why I came here, I was just really upset and I didn't want to see anyone in the Slytherin commons. I didn't think that you would be here, but I figured I would just come check."

"So you were looking for me?" I was surprised to say the least, and I was not hiding it well. My voice went up an octave, my eyebrows were raised significantly, and my face flushed. I clearly did not posses the amazing poker face that he and his fellow Slytherin had. He rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Don't sound so surprised." He said shrugging "I figured-"

"Alright children, it is now ten minutes to curfew, I suggest both of you get to your respective houses now." Madam Pince's voice came from behind us, and I jumped nearly a foot. I had forgotten that the librarian was here. We bid her a goodnight and headed out to the hallway. We started walking to the stairs, both of us suddenly silent.

"I am sorry for whatever it is you are going through, Draco." I said softly, not looking at him even when he glanced at me.

"I don't need your pity, Granger." he said it gruffly, but there was no force behind it, no real anger.I shrugged, still not looking at him as we approached the stairs.

"It's not pity," I said,"it is sympathy. I have seen a lot of heartbreak recently and I can relate to it. Though," I continued finally planting my feet down by the stairs and facing him. "you are doing a great job fooling everyone else. No one else seems to notice you are falling apart, well except Blaise."

"I am not falling apart." He growled at me, gritting his teeth. "Malfoy's don't fall apart."

"Oh no, of course not." I responded sarcastically. "You seem to be doing great." He huffed and turned his head away from me. His jaw seemed sharper, and his white shirt showed his collar bone a little too easily. It made me uneasy. There was clearly something going on with Draco, perhaps its was still Katie Bell? I felt guilty then, for pushing him to talk about something he very clearly wanted to keep bottled up. I sighed. "I just wanted to let you know, that I am here to help. If you need to talk or something." He didn't say anything and started to walk down the stairs to the dungeons. I started upstairs and just barely made out what he said. It almost sounded like a "Thanks, Granger.", I couldn't be sure, but I went up to the Gryffindor tower with a smile on my face just the same.

"I am sure you guys are going to do fantastic tonight, I don't understand why you are so stressed about this game." I said for probably the fifth time that morning. We were sitting at the Gryffindor table at breakfast discussing the first Quidditch game to happen this year. The boys had been bickering all morning about whether or not the game was going to go well, and Ron kept going back and forth on if Harry should let him play. It was very, very annoying.

"Because, Hermione" Harry said, dragging out the word 'because', while Ron nervously split his pumpkin juice in his lap. "You haven't see the practices. The team is barely a unit. It was a disaster." I wordlessly handed Ron a few napkins to dry off his quidditch uniform. I bit my lip to hide a smile, he looked very handsome in his uniform. It was tight and showed his butt well, not that I had been totally checking it out or anything, but, honestly. He looked great.

Except for the nervous sweat and the panicky motions he kept making with his hands.

"You should just pull in McLaggen, Harry. I am just gonna bring you down today." He said, again, while dabbing at his pants with the napkins.

I rolled my eyes at Ron, and just happened to glance at the Slytherin table across the hall. Malfoy was smirking as Nott talked to him. He looked a little better. It had been a few weeks since the time in the stairwell and the subsequent walking from the library. Our interactions were less strained, more open to banter and actual studying. I'm not saying he was everything nice, but he wasn't horrible.

"Is that why you put that in his drink, Harry?" Luna Lovegoods soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced back at Harry as he hurriedly pocketed a small vial.

"Harry James Potter, you did not just put that in his drink!" Harry shrugged at me with a small smirk. "Ron you can't drink that!" I was outraged, this could destroy Gryffindors chances at winning the Quidditch cup, not that I really cared, I just didn't want Slytherin to win again. More importantly, Harry has been cheating so much lately I just was tired of it.

But of course, Ron downed the cup and he and Harry giddily hurried off to the pitch. I stomped after them, but they were in a rush and I fell behind, they didn't slow down when I called after them either. I groaned and sat on the stairs rubbing at my temple.

"All good, Granger?" I looked up and saw Zabini, Malfoy wasn't with him, and he swaggered over to me and sat down.

"My friends are idiots." I stated plainly, making him laugh. I smiled back at him.

Zabini had joined Malfoy and I for a few study sessions after that single one that we had alone. He wasn't the egotistical jackass that I was expecting... Well, only slightly. But he was also wicked smart and the three of us had amazing debates. He has been a great tool in getting Draco to actually study and not complain so much.

"I think Draco has been mentioning that since the day he met them. Just figuring it out?"

"I guess so, I just don't understand why they don't listen to me about anything." I played with my hair, ignoring the weird looks we were getting from students as they headed to the pitch. I knew that it was weird to see a Slytherin and a Gryffindor just sitting around talking, but it wasn't the first time Blaise and I have talked in public, I wish people would just get over it. But of course we weren't just any other students from different houses, I was part of Harry's circle and Blaise was part of Malfoy's. People considered it "treason" almost.

"I believe that we established they were idiots." I laughed, nodding in agreement. He smiled back at me and titled his head towards the door were I noticed Draco watching us.

"Wanna walk to the pitch with us? We tend to be better company than most Gryffindors."

"Sure you are." I say, rolling my eyes. "But, no thanks. I'm going to head down a little late. Everyone goes down so early, there's still like an hour before it starts!"

"That is because we want to make sure we get the best seats." He said cheerfully and stood up. "You are more than welcome to come sit in the stands with us."

"Thanks, but I probably should show support for my house, right? Besides," i said giving him a look "I probably shouldn't be around people singing 'Weasley is Our King', when it says mean things about my friends right?" He laughed and then gave a light-hearted shrug.

"I guess." He winked at me and started walking away. I glanced over at Draco and watched him wait for Blaise. When Blaise joined him, he looked back at me and nodded, before heading out to the pitch.

It was weird, being friendly with them. Not in the, everyone stare at us way because that was just annoying. But in the 'I started the year out hating you fiercely and now we are study buddies' type way. Harry and Ron still didn't understand my friendliness towards them and it did cause a little bit of tension between us.

It seems like everything I did caused tension between Ron and me though. I spend too much time with Malfoy and not enough with my friends, or I am overbearing and constantly bothering him and Harry. It was as if I was constantly fighting this losing battle to gain some kindness from him. Harry tried to step between us, but he always leaned a little more Ron's way during an argument. It bothered me, like a lot. In fact the more that I sat there thinking about it the worse it made me feel. I gathered my stuff up quickly and ran down the hall, calling out for the Slytherins. They stopped and looked back in surprise at me, then Blaise smiled.

"Couldn't resist me after all, huh?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, that's what it was." I laughed and glanced over at Malfoy. "It okay if I join you guys?"

"Sure." He said noncommittally with a shrug. "You going to survive sitting with the rest of Slytherin house?" I smiled slyly.

"I guess we will find out."

 **Authors Note:**

 **Hey everyone! I really want to apologize about the delay in this chapter. It was a fight. I have been working on it since I published the last one and it just was no were to find. Me and this chapter really fought, butted headed, battled it out ect, because nothing was going the way I felt the story needed to. I am still not fully sure that this was the one, but I figure I can go over it in editing next month. I hope that you enjoy it and the start of development of Blaise's character was worth the wait.**

 **Thank you for sticking with me! The story will continue, even if it takes me a while to figure it out.**

 **Ali**


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